The Other Tomorrow
by vashluver1
Summary: Meryl's thoughts are erased by an unknown evil who has seemingly taken control of the last person Vash thought he would ever see again. VxMxOC
1. Prologue 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Trigun or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: Dear God I haven't written a Trigun fanfic in the longest time so please be kind to me. I hope my writing has gotten better in comparison to my previous stories. I beg you NOT to read them. They're kind of embarrassing. Please tell me how this one goes, what's good about it and what to improve on. I love constructive criticism! Thank you!**

* * *

**Prologue **_Part 1_

'Ugh… Where… am I?' Meryl palmed the hard-packed dirt shakily, attempting to stand. She spotted her taller companion unconscious beside her. 'Millie…' A group of men were lying all about her with guns at their sides. A few yarz away, Meryl's heart sank to see the infamous Vash the Stampede sprawled out on the ground, gun at his side. Near to him lay the deathly still body of the blue-haired, silky-voiced Legato.

Meryl's eyes widened. She started to run towards Vash but a pain in her leg caused her to collapse only a few feels away from where she woke. On the ground, Meryl slowly began to crawl to Vash's body. Upon reaching it, a tear escaped and fell to Vash's cheek silently. Meryl watched the drop trace the man's strong jaw and drip to the dirt ground.

Meryl heard a stirring from behind her. She turned to see Millie on her hands and knees recuperating from the hit to her head. A couple men got up rubbing their heads and left in a confused state. Shortly after, others followed suit. Millie looked up, saw Meryl and rushed to her side.

Vash's wounds looked fatal so women felt it would be best to hurry him to a doctor as soon as possible. They stood up together with Vash's arms over their shoulders. Meryl shook a little under Vash's weight and with the pain in her right leg.

Millie noticed Meryl's grimace. "Meryl… How do we…?" She looked at the unmoving body of Legato. "Do we just…?" It seemed she couldn't finish a sentence.

Meryl stood straighter and ignored her pain. "We've just got to find a car here in LR town. I'm sure we can get an abandoned one… with the keys still in it…" She looked at the ground, discouraged by her ridiculous words.

Despite Meryl's doubts, the girls did find a car with keys after they all but dragged Vash down from the cliff. It was an old broken down jeep with less than a half a tank of gas in it. Meryl sat in back with Vash's head in her lap, lying across the back seat.

Millie tried to start the car and failed. After a minute of teeth clenching and dying sputters from the engine, the ignition rumbled to life. Millie sat back and started driving straight to nowhere in particular. The gas tank just about emptied a few feels from the entrance of a little village called Jacobstown.

The car ride had been silent, but Millie and Meryl could not forget the sound of that last gunshot. They sat in the car for a few more minutes in deep thought, both wanting but incapable of breaking the depressing spell that was upon them.

"Hey! Are you girls alright?" asked a man in overalls and a construction hat a couple yarz away from the jeep.

Millie was the first to pipe up. Her instantaneous grin was enough to make Meryl cry but she bit back the tears. "My two friends are injured and I was wondering if you had a doctor in this village."

The man came a little closer with a small but friendly smile. "Of course. Man this guy is trashed…" He helped Millie take Vash into the city, Meryl limping behind them.

An hour later, Meryl was sitting up in a white bed inside a clinic. Her sprained ankle was wrapped up in a heated bandage. The doctor had said it wouldn't take too long to heal. She also insisted that Millie get her head checked out. It was a very minor concussion that she would probably only recognize as a few headaches for about a week. She gave them both medication and let them free to go.

Meryl turned back to the doctor. "But what about my friend? Is he going to be ok?" Meryl asked, her hand clutching the crutch in worry.

"You're friend has acquired wounds that no normal human could survive," the doctor answered. "He seems stable for now but I would feel better if he could stay here for the night just to make sure. I can't force him to stay but I strongly suggest it."

Millie smiled at the doctor. "Thank you, doctor. We'll find some place to stay in the meantime and come back for our friend in the morning."

The doctor mirrored Millie's smile. "If you have any trouble in getting him back tomorrow, just tell the nurse that Maddie said it was ok." The doctor winked. "I'm sure she'll understand."

Millie and Meryl smiled at the kind lady and left. Dr. Maddie saddened immediately, hoping that the nice girls and their male friend would be ok. She turned back to Vash to make sure he was perfectly stable before leaving the room. The lights went out as she exited and Vash's body lay unmoving in the shadowy room.

* * *

The girls had no trouble finding a small house they could stay in. It had one bedroom, one bathroom, and a small kitchen. Meryl set up a bed in the kitchen for herself and Millie took the bed in the other room. There was also a small couch, which constituted as the living room, that Meryl would use when Vash came to stay at the house.

"Meryl." Millie stood in the doorway to the kitchen. Meryl looked at the bandage on Millie's head and frowned. "I'm sorry, Meryl. I just thought you might like it if I made some dinner for the both of us."

"That's ok, Millie. I don't think there is anything in the cupboards anyway. We'll have to buy some food tomorrow." Meryl leaned her crutch against a wall and limped to the bed.

"But Meryl… we don't have much money left. Our paycheck hasn't come in quite a while. Bernardelli might think we haven't surv- been doing our jobs!" Millie laughed at her slip up. Meryl didn't crack a grin. "Good night, Meryl."

"Good night, Millie…" The tall girl exited the kitchen leaving Meryl in the darkening room. 'What if he never recovers?' she questioned herself. 'Oh GOD! Would you just shut yourself up, Meryl! Vash is not dead! And he most definitely will not die! So get over yourself and get to sleep. You have a ton of nursing to do tomorrow!' Meryl listened to her conscious and let herself fall into an unsteady dreamless sleep.

---TEN DAYS LATER---

'Vash? Vash! Wake up! Quick! Oh Vash.' Rem's motherly voice echoed in his head. "What Rem?" Vash opened one aqua eye to observe his surroundings. He could see a pot steaming on the stove and his red coat hanging on a hook by the door. Light washed through a window to his left.

He sat up and examined his bandaged chest. "Where the hell am I?" he asked himself out loud. The blond gunman sighed and put a hand to his forehead. Suddenly, a flood of memories washed through his mind. _Wolfwood… Vash talking to Meryl about his past… Midvalley dead in LR town… Legato's deadly calm smile…_ Vash gasped, his eyes widening in despair. _The men of LR town unconscious on the cliff… Millie and Meryl lying in the dirt beside them… his own smoking gun and Legato's corpse…_ It was all coming back to him now, painfully. His voice shaking, "What have… what have I… become?"

"Thank you so much for all your help." Vash looked at the door. "He might not have made it otherwise."

"Think nothin' of it. If you need anything else, all you have to do is ask."

"I will. Thank you again."

Vash stared at the door listening to this friendly exchange and waited. The door opened slowly to reveal Meryl holding a grocery bag in her arms. Her smile melted away into shock as she noticed Vash awake sitting up in bed. They regarded each other silently for a moment.

Meryl plastered a smile on her face. "Oh you're awake! Well already that's an improvement." She set the bag on the table. "I was worried about you. You must be hungry. I'll fix you some soup!"

Vash's eyes followed her as she walked to the stove, limping slightly. "Where… where are we?" he asked.

"It's a small village about 200 iles from the town of LR. There's a lot of very kind people living in this town. They let us stay at this house so we could care for your wounds. Do you remember anything? You've been asleep since we arrived. For ten days straight now." She spooned some soup into a bowl and handed it to him at his bedside. "Here. It's my own recipe." He took it slowly. "Drink up. It's good for healing."

The Humanoid Typhoon stared sadly at the hot food. "I… I remember. I remember all of it."

Meryl stood there, uncomfortable about what to do. "Oh hey! I just forgot. I need to…" she stopped herself. 'Vash really needs me… he really needs me. Now is my chance to help him through something. He's opening up again. I'm afraid… can I handle it?' She pushed away her doubts.

Vash looked down at her shoes and noticed she was wearing a small cast. His eyebrows furrowed angrily as he remembered how the men under the control of Legato threw her and Millie to the ground. They must have hurt her leg somehow. He looked back into her slate colored eyes. "You need to what?" he asked, his voice beginning to quiver. Vash was unsure about what he wanted. Was he really ok with Meryl seeing him like this?

Meryl kneeled down on the ground next to Vash's bed. "Nothing. I need to be here to help you. Now please have some soup. Millie and I really want you to get better." She smiled.

Vash found himself feeling relieved that she was staying. He looked into the steaming soup. A tear fell into it causing a ripple on the surface. Vash began to sob slightly, his body shaking a bit.

'What do I do? What do I do?' This is the reason Meryl was hesitant to stay. She didn't know how to react to this. Her first instinct was to hug him until all his sorrows drowned but she felt that it would be a little too forward of her. So she simply placed her hand in his wrist. "I'm here Vash." She stood and took the bowl from his hands and set it on the table.

Vash looked at her in surprise. He saw her sit next to him on the bed and stare at him. Her lilac eyes revealed an emotion he couldn't place. Anxiousness… fear… guilt… care…

"Vash… please. I can't imagine how miserable you must feel-" Her jaw dropped a little. Vash had wrapped both his arms around her middle and cried into her lap like a sick child in pain. Meryl placed her shocked hands slowly down on his head, her fingers playing gently with his hair.

"Oh Meryl…" His voice came out muffled in her lap, his voice wracked with sobs. "What I have I done?"

Meryl released the first thought that came through her lips. "What you had to, Vash. You did what you had to do." Vash didn't seem to hear her. His sobs grew a little louder. Meryl's heart hurt to hear him like this. She leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. After a few minutes of stroking his head gently, the tears slowed and sobbing subsided.

Vash had fallen asleep with his arms wrapped around Meryl's waist and his head in her lap. She noticed that he had eaten none of the soup. She sighed, worrying about his lack of sustenance. Meryl found that she couldn't get up from the bed as Vash was practically on top of her. She was happy that it was Sunday and she didn't have to go to work. He would wake up and she would be there. Maybe then he could talk to her… about what he was feeling. 'All I want to do is make him better. I want him better.'

Meryl started to doze off a little after a half hour of sitting as still as possible without waking the outlaw. She couldn't even lean against the wall without having to completely change position. Her back began to hurt as her eyes drooped lower…

He had never fallen asleep. Vash could not keep his thoughts off of Legato or the woman he was currently grasping. Legato had threatened her life, but was that enough to kill him? What that enough to kill anyone? 'No one has the right-' He willed Rem's voice to cease for the first time in his life. He did not want to hear her. What he did hear was Meryl's stomach growl as he suddenly realized that she had not been moving for his sake. It had been long enough. He unwrapped his arms from the small woman and sat up. "Sorry…" he whispered.

It was almost inaudible, but she heard the apology. "Don't say that like I did you a favor or anything. I wanted to help…" She trailed off.

Tiresome of masks, he put on one last rather ineffective happy façade. "Go get something to eat Insurance Girl. I'll finish this soup." He smiled a bit.

'Oh Vash… Finish? You didn't even start it yet and it's probably cold by now,' Meryl thought to herself. Silently, she picked up the bowl from the table and heated it a little over the stove fire and returned it.

Vash accepted it. "Thank you," he whispered, hoping she would take his apology the right way.

She did. Meryl knew that he wasn't just thanking her for the soup. It was for staying with him. She couldn't believe that she was actually considering leaving him in such a state. She hoped he was feeling just a little better now. 'I hope it makes him happier that he knows he always has someone there to hold him.' Meryl smiled. "You're welcome. I hope you like it! Get some rest after, ok? I'll be back soon. Bye!" She strode from the room.

Vash looked after her. "Good bye…" He turned to the soup and started eating.

* * *

Meryl walked slowly down the dirt road to Millie's construction site. She had found a job digging out the old well in town. Meryl stepped with her lavender eyes glued to the ground. 'I'm glad I stayed. I would never have forgiven myself if I had left him alone to cry. I want to know…' Meryl slowed her pace a little. "What must be going through that poor man's mind?" she asked herself with a detectable edge of worry in her voice.

"Miss Meryl? Miss Meryl?" an unsteady voice caught Meryl's attention. She looked and saw and old man in a red hat and vest to her left. "How is your friend doing?" he asked kindly. "Is he feeling any better?"

"Oh much better thank you," Meryl replied. "He finally regained consciousness. In fact if he keeps healing at this rate, he should be up and about real soon."

The old man nodded approvingly. "That's wonderful, dear. I'm happy to hear that."

Suddenly the ground began to shake and a huge boulder shot out from the well followed shortly by the retractable X from Millie's stun gun. Meryl shrieked as she leapt away from the swiftly descending stone. "Oh dear!" exclaimed the old man.

"Sorry about that!" Millie called out from the well as she rose to the top of the well, yellow construction hat adorning her head.

"Huh?!" Meryl looked at her companion. Millie laughed nervously.

A couple minutes later, Millie and Meryl were sitting on a stone wall near the well. "Mr. Vash is awake?" Millie asked. "Gee Meryl! That's wonderful news." She grinned.

"Yeah," Meryl agreed.

"That's great. You must be excited."

Meryl's eyes widened. 'How does she do it? How does she know so much and act like none of it is a big deal? It's odd…'

"Uh… Oh yeah! That reminds me…" Millie pulled a brown envelope out of the left side pocket of her overalls while looking at Meryl out of the corner of her sky blue eyes. She handed the envelope to Meryl. "It's today's wages."

Meryl received the envelope. "I'm sorry about this, Millie, making you do all the work by yourself…" Meryl looked up at her best friend. "It's not fair."

"Don't worry about it!" Millie looked up at the sky. "I always work the fields at home and besides, by keeping busy, I don't have time to think about my problems. In fact I don't think about anything at all."

Meryl looked away for a moment. Millie was speaking of her first and only love, Nicholas D. Wolfwood, who had recently been killed by one of Legato's lackey's, Chapel the Evergreen, Wolfwood's former mentor. Millie had loved him more than anyone else. Meryl knew that Millie was pretending to be ok not only for her own and Meryl's sake, but to honor his memory.

The raven-haired woman mentally shook away her thoughts and turned her attention back to her friend. "Incidentally," she changed topics. "How is the well coming along, anyway?"

"Not too bad according to the schedule. It looks like we should reach the underground water vein in about one week," she informed happily.

Meryl placed her hands on her hips. "Well let's splurge on dinner tonight. What d'you say?"

"Wow! Do you really mean it?" Millie asked incredulously.

The shorter woman nodded and they got up from the wall to stop by the Variety Store to buy some ingredients. After purchasing their products, the girls started on their way home each holding a filled grocery bag in their arms.

"You know something, Meryl? This place kinda reminds me of my hometown," Millie noticed as they walked down the road.

"But there's nothing here. Your home is actually like that?" asked Meryl.

"That's right. It's just a quiet plain ordinary little village, but it was a great place to live because my whole family was there." Millie smiled.

"Oh yeah… family…" Meryl never knew her parents. Her mother died shortly after childbirth and her father left the infant in the care of her older brother, Harry. He was a good care provider, but Meryl always wanted more. She remembered the last time she saw her brother. It was before she left for December to work at the Bernardelli Insurance Society after college. She was instantly placed as a traveling representative in the line of risk prevention. The job kept her busy. She hadn't written a letter in ages or received one. She decided that it was because Harry never knew where she was.

"Huh?" A figure sitting on a cliff distracted her from her train of thought.

"What is it Meryl?" Millie inquired, stopping next to her smaller friend. "Oh?" she looked where Meryl's attention was currently focusing.

"That man up there…" Meryl whispered.

* * *

The next evening Meryl sat next to a window in a wooden chair mending Vash's red coat. She thought about her encounter with Vash on the cliff.

_"I'm ending lives! There's always another choice. There had to be another way. I just didn't see it in time to do anything about it. Rem said so. There had to be a way."_

Meryl and Millie had sat together at the table near Vash that evening, discussing the day of Legato's death. Meryl had regretted pursuing him because of the pain they caused but Millie had had none of it.

_"The only reason you followed Vash is because you care about him! Isn't that right? It could have happened anyway. What's wrong with taking a stand and acting with your heart? Well like my big, big sister always said, 'Never hold back in matters of the heart.'"_

Meryl was brought back to the present as she pricked her finger with the needle. 'Oh Vash…' She gazed up at the fifth moon, unable to tear her eyes away from the crater that would scar it forever.

* * *

Vash was left alone on the porch the next morning. Kuroneko-sama was seated on the ground at his feet. Vash held his hand out to the black cat that then in turn scratched the top of the gunman's hand and ran off.

A truck rumbled up across the street. A man got out of the passenger side door to grab a couple packages for a man who had come out of the building the car had stopped at. Vash's sensitive hearing picked up the conversation between the two men. It concerned the mass disappearances in multiple towns.

Vash furrowed his eyebrows. 'Knives…' he thought angrily.

The man from the truck noticed Vash after handing the packages to the street resident. "First time I've seen him," he said while looking at Vash.

The town resident went on to explain how two girls had brought him to the village to heal from his extensive wounds. The driver of the car looked in the side-view mirror at Vash and immediately recognized him as Vash the Stampede. He yelled at the other man to get in the truck.

"What's with the shouting, Simon?"

"Just get in the damn truck!"

As the truck drove off, the driver informed his partner that the "blond guy" sitting on the porch was definitely Vash the Stampede.

* * *

Vash sat on the cliff staring up at the night sky. His aqua eyes couldn't look away from the vast beauty ahead of him. He began to sing the first song that came to his mind. "So… on the first evening of pebble from somewhere out of nowhere drops upon the dreaming world."

"So…" Vash turned to look behind him as he heard a female voice mingled with his.

Meryl walked forward a little and stopped. "On the second celestial evening, all the children of the pebble hold hands and compose a waltz." They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity of silence. "That's a nice song," she said as she went closer to sit by him.

"Mmm," he sounded in agreement.

Only the sound of crickets could be heard in the distance. Vash listened to the echoes in his mind of Meryl's voice intertwined with his.

"You can…" Meryl broke the stillness. "You can stay here as long as you like." She blushed and shivered a little.

"That sounds good. Might not be such a bad idea."

"Huh?" His words surprised and warmed her, as she knew he was only saying that to make her feel better. They continued looking together at the night sky. After a few more minutes of attempting to control her shivers, Meryl let out a light yawn that sounded a bit like a sigh.

Vash looked at her tired profile. "You're cold. And worn-out," he observed.

Meryl looked into his honest eyes. "Do I look that bad?" she asked with a small smile playing on her lips.

Vash chuckled. "Never," he said. "I just figured you'd want to go back inside is all." He cast his eyes down, a frown marring his features for only a moment of sadness for the end of their short time together. He stood up and held out a hand for Meryl to take. He easily pulled her to her feet and let go of her hand.

Her eyes, looking a darker purple in the moonlight, came to rest on Vash's obvious limp. She stood to closer to his right and grabbed his arm and placed it over her right shoulder for his support and slid her left arm onto his upper back. The tall man put some weight on Meryl. She helped him down the cliff and to their house. She led him to the kitchen where his bed was kept.

She released him and he sat down on his bed to remove his shoes. "Good night, Vash," she said and turned to leave the room.

"Wait, Insure- … Meryl. Wait…" She stopped with the door open and angled her head slightly to the side with him in her peripheral vision.

"Yes, Vash?" she asked.

"Uh… nothing. Just, thank you, I guess…" he all but whispered.

Meryl heard him clearly and shut the door. She walked back to him and kneeled on her knees with his hands in hers looking up into his sea-colored eyes. "I'm here for you, Vash. No matter what happens. I'm here."

Vash hugged her, his chin resting on her shoulder. "Stay a little while longer…" he sighed into her ear. He felt her nod faintly. He pulled her gently onto his small bed, laying her down softly next to him.

Meryl could feel his heart beating somewhat quickly against her back. Her pulse also quickened at his nearness. She was surprised at how relaxed she felt in his arms. He too was mildly amazed. On a normal day, Meryl would have clobbered him if he tried this. But regardless of their personal thoughts, sleep soon overcame them.

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**AN: So... I hope you liked this chapter. I know it may be overly fluffy. The next chapter will be better, I promise. Still just getting into Trigun writing again. Have faith in me! Please review and tell me if a continuation is worth it. I'll tell you this now: whatever you think may happen in this story, will turn out to be the complete opposite. The ideas I have in my head are the most original I've ever had. Keep that in mind! **


	2. Prologue 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Trigun or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: And yes I realize that I haven't updated this story in months and I also realize that I don't remember were in the hell I was going with this story. But I recently had some inspiration that I thought might make this even better. There are a few short paragraphs that I tried to make as T rated as possible. If it's too much, instead of reporting me, just tell me so I can change the rating. Thank you. And yes, I honored you all with another lengthy chapter. I hope to God I can get another one out there quick. I'd forgotten how much I LOVE these characters! **

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**Prologue** _Part 2_

Meryl awoke to the feel of zephyr-like breezes tickling the hairs on the nape of her neck. She opened her eyes and was shocked to see herself not on the couch where she typically slept, but in the kitchen on the small cot she had set up for Vash almost two weeks ago. It surprised her that she hadn't fallen off. The cot comfortably fit one person and a second person could easily roll off at any given time during the night. Before panicking about the awkward situation she'd found herself in, Meryl remembered the innocence that occurred the previous night. Vash had not wanted to be left alone, so she simply complied to sleep beside him. The fact that she did not wake up on the floor could be blamed upon the pale, scarred arms within which she appeared to be cocooned.

She sighed. It was hopeless. She couldn't lie here any longer. She had a job to do. Meryl attempted to disentangle herself from Vash without waking him. "I wish I could stay…" she whispered.

Meryl tiptoed out of the kitchen, down the hall, and into the bathroom, where she allowed herself to take a long hot shower. She thought without really thinking and sang the song that she and Vash had sung the night before. It took a full forty-five minutes before she realized that she was probably late for work.

With the towel wrapped around her petite form, she stepped lightly across the hall and into the bedroom to get dressed. The clock read 10:00AM, two hours _after_ she was supposed to be at work. Strangely enough, Meryl didn't care. 'They probably found someone to fill in for me,' she mused and continued getting ready at a slow pace.

Finally dressed and ready for work, she took one last look on Vash in the kitchen, but he wasn't there. 'Must be in the bathroom or something,' she mentally explained. "Goodbye, Vash! I'm going to work!" she yelled out of habit, not really expecting a reply, and walked out the front door.

He didn't hear her. He didn't hear her, because he wasn't there.

-ONE HOUR EARLIER-

Vash felt a disturbance in his arms. He lifted one eye open and noticed he wasn't alone. Meryl's cropped black hair tickled his nose and he fought back a sneeze. Smiling, he closed his eye and let out a comfortable sigh. Meryl continued to slowly move off the bed, trying as hard as she could not to wake him up. He reluctantly let her slip his arms off of her waist. "I wish I could stay…" he heard her breathe out. Her tiptoes faded away. All was silent for a few seconds until he heard water running.

"Now, now!" A man's voice shouted gruffly through the window. About three large men jumped into the room, wielding weapons. Vash sat up in confusion, but the men were too fast for his awakening mind to grasp. The tallest of the men rushed up and hit the backside of Vash's head with a black handgun. The outlaw's last coherent thought was for Meryl's safety.

* * *

The bell rang, signaling the entrance of someone into the local bar.

"I'm sorry I'm late. I didn't get very much sleep last night," Meryl lied. Truthfully, it was the most restful night she'd had since before she'd met Vash the Stampede.

"Meryl!" Millie's high-pitched voice alerted the shorter insurance girl.

"Huh?" Her tall friend was wracked with worry and surrounded by angry looking townsmen.

"Meryl…" The warning in her tone was clear. These men were here for more than just booze. That was for sure.

"Hah! You really had us fooled!" The insurance girls were backed up against the wall as the men started shouting at them.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Meryl spoke up in their defense.

"Don't even bother playin' dumb!"

"Yeah! How dare you bring someone like Vash the Stampede here to endanger our home?!"

"Don't say that! We mean you no harm!" Meryl stepped forward. She turned her head, hearing the voice of the old man with the red hat and vest.

"Listen, miss. It's just that we don't want to die. All we ask is that you leave here and don't look back. If you don't agree to do that then you might die."

"And no tellin' what'll happen to your friend!" a male voice threatened.

"That's enough!" barked the old man in red.

"What do you mean? What'll you do to him?" Meryl asked. She heard the rumbling of an engine and ran to the window. Her eyes widened as she saw Vash tied to the back of a truck being dragged up and down the road. "No! You can't!" Meryl couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Stop! You're hurting him!"

"This is wrong. You can't do this to a poor, innocent man. He's injured!" Millie cried out.

"Innocent?!"

"Don't make me laugh."

"That man is a monster! He has NO right to live!"

"Innocent, my ass…"

Loud voices shouted at the girls right and left. Millie and Meryl locked eyes. What were they going to do? They had no choice but to do what they always did. They had to help him. They had to help Vash the Stampede.

One's man voice could be heard above all others. "You two girls must have been brainwashed by him… or SOMETHING! How can you possibly hold his life in any regard?!"

"Because we've seen how he lives. He's saved our lives countless times. It's true that disaster follows in his wake, but he's never the one to cause it. It's caused by people trying to kill him. If everyone would just leave him alone and let him LIVE then NO ONE would have to DIE!" Meryl's voice rose with every word that shot out of her mouth. She silenced the men. Looking straight ahead, the women ran out of the building and followed the sound of gunshots.

* * *

"Now smile. At least you could have the decency to die like a man, so come on you shit! Smile! I said SMILE, damn it!" Vash just lay there, emotionless.

Meryl and Millie found themselves running through a crowd and kneeling next to the tied up Vash the Stampede. Meryl placed her hands on his back to sit him up.

"Stop it! Please! Don't kill him!" She stood up and stepped towards the man with the gun. "You don't understand! He fought to protect everyone. I beg you! Please don't kill him. He just came here to heal. He wasn't going to hurt anyone,"

"Get out of my way!" The man pushed Meryl to the ground.

"Meryl!" Millie caught her best friend.

"Could a normal human being do all those horrible things? He had to be the one! Who else could have been responsible?"

"No, you're wrong," said Meryl.

"Then tell me why. Why the hell did Steven have to die such a horrible death, huh?! Answer me! Answer me…" he sobbed.

The white-clad woman stood up. "I've… I've watched him for a long time, so I know. It's true that he can't avoid fighting but this man knows how to live, to live like a decent human being." She looked at Vash. "Shooting him won't help anyone."

The gun fired. "Don't feed me your garbage! We have the right to shoot this monster for everything he's done! We've lost friends, families, neighbors, and even children. We should hate this bastard and now he deserves to die!"

"But you're wrong," said Meryl. "No one ever has the right to take the life of another person. No one… no one ever has the right to take the life of another. No one… and everyone… everyone deserves a future."

Vash looked up, eyes wide. His gaze fell on Meryl. She was defending him in the same way that Rem had defended Knives from Rowan back on the Seeds ship so long ago. Meryl was protecting Vash with her life. It may have been that he was tired, bleeding, and probably concussed, but at that moment, the resemblance became clear. In his eyes, Meryl became Rem. "Oh, Rem…" Vash whispered.

"Don't you think that's true?" Meryl stepped forward between Vash and the gun.

"Wait. Stay back. Didn't you hear me? I said, 'stay back!'" The man staggered backwards.

"Please. Please it's time to stop the fighting now." Meryl took another step.

"Why? Why are you doing that? Please get back."

"It's up to us to end the cycle of hatred. If we don't work to end the sorrow this time, then the cycle of pain will just continue on. When we were all born, were any of us made to steal or cause others harm?"

All was silent. The man's hands shook as Meryl slowly placed her hand on the gun and pushed it down...

* * *

"How could you two have been so reckless?" Vash inquired, still sitting on the ground. 

"Ugh! You're the last person I want criticism from," said Meryl.

"And besides, what we did is exactly what you've always done. And I'm sure… I know in my heart that he would have chosen to do the same." Millie smiled in memory of a certain priest.

"You've just given me the answer," said Vash, out of the blue. He looked up at Meryl.

"Huh?" Meryl looked back at the blonde outlaw before her.

"That's it! It's gotta be!" Vash got up and wrapped his arms around the short girl.

"Hey wait! Uh… What are you doing?" Meryl asked. She could hear Millie standing back laughing nervously at the scene in front of her.

Vash felt the petite woman tense up in his arms. This surprised him seeing as they slept through the entire night being this close.

"I hate to ask but how long are you planning to do this?" She really did hate to ask. It's not like she wasn't enjoying being so near to him. Honestly, she just didn't want _him_ knowing how much she liked it.

"Oh this is a great day!" Vash exclaimed. He squeezed her tighter, picked her up, and began swinging the poor girl side to side. Meryl growled and wailed and finally had enough of it. She hit him upside the head and stomped off, followed by Millie, her mouth agape. "Hey, I'm injured remember?" Vash whined.

That night, Vash sat atop the cliff again. He hoped that tonight would be similar to the night before and with a much more pleasant morning afterwards. But he knew it wouldn't be like that. He knew he had to leave. He had to find Knives and put a stop to his mass murder and mayhem. Only then could Vash settle down and start a life. And why kind of life would that be? Did he want to be with Meryl? What did he feel for the little spitfire? Love? If so, did she return his feelings? So many questions… Vash wasn't even sure he wanted them answered. It pained him that he would outlive Meryl. He didn't deserve immortality. He wasted it on booze, women, and chasing the elusive mayfly of love. What kind of bullshit was _that _anyway? Why chase love when it was right in front of him?

"Vash?" Meryl's soft voice was heard through his mental ranting.

The blonde man turned to look at the woman behind him. "Hey, Meryl. You brought a blanket this time. Are we going to sleep under the stars tonight?" he asked.

Meryl blushed. "I just wondered if you'd like some company, is all. And… and I want to know…"

Vash smiled. "You can come closer, Meryl. I won't bite." He winked and held out his hand. Meryl walked forward. He slipped his hand through hers and pulled her down into his lap. After wrapping the thick blanket around both of them, he asked, "You want to know what, Meryl?"

Eyes wide at the position he placed them in, she sputtered out, "I-I just wanted t-to know what you… what you were g-going to do now…" She looked out at the desert horizon.

He followed her gaze. "Meryl…" he breathed. She liked the sound of her name coming from his lips. "Meryl, I wish I could stay here, in peace. But what you said today, to those men, was right. The fighting has to end. The only way to do that is to confront Knives and put an end to both of our misery."

"Are you going to kill him?" Meryl asked.

It was a simple enough question, but Vash couldn't find an answer to it. Would he kill his own brother? Sometimes, he wanted to. But he knew what Rem would have to say to that.

Afraid that he didn't hear her, Meryl repeated, "Are you g-?"

"No. No, I couldn't do that. I'm just going to find him and see what happens from there. You know I've never actually tried just _talking_ to him. After all the time I could have sat down and had a little chat…"

Meryl giggled. "He doesn't exactly seem like the kind of guy who'd open up over some tea and crumpets, Vash."

Her laugh surprised him. It made him warm up to the thought of living out her lifespan together. He'd do anything to hear that twinkling laughter the rest of his life. "Yeah…" he chuckled. "I guess you're right."

"But after that? What'll you do after you talk, or fight, or preach, or whatever it is you'll do to Knives? Will you keep traveling or… or will you stay with… stay somewhere?" Meryl questioned.

Vash didn't miss the hope in her delicate voice. "I don't know. If Knives agrees to _try_ and see things my way, I'd like to show him around the planet, letting him see the good and bad sides of humanity. I don't know how long that would take. But I'm definitely not letting him out of my sight for a long while."

It wasn't what she wanted to hear, he could tell. She squirmed a little and began twiddling her fingers. "What about _you_, Meryl? What are you and Millie going to do once I leave? You can't very well follow me. I won't let you. Knives is too dangerous and wouldn't hesitate using you against me." Vash grew slightly angry at the thought of his twin manipulating Meryl into hurting someone, or worse, herself.

"Well… Millie and I still work for Bernardelli. We'd probably go back to December if we didn't hear from you. We'd wait. We'd want you to contact us somehow so we know you're ok. Back in December I would try and convince headquarters that you don't need to be monitored any longer because you resigned or something…" she trailed off.

"Or died. You could try and convince them that I died." Meryl stiffened. "It's not a completely insane idea, really. The July explosion was thirty years ago. To the cavalry, bounty hunters, and Bernardelli, I'm between fifty and sixty years old. They have to know that if I were human, I can't exactly last much longer."

Meryl shifted her body around in his lap so she faced him. "Would you want me to do that, Mr. Vash?"

Vash raised an eyebrow. " 'Mr. Vash'? Where did that come from, _Miss_ Meryl?"

The woman in his arms smiled and laughed. "I guess it's kind of a habit. Whenever I'm looking at you straight in the eye, it makes it easier to believe that I'm _actually_ with _Vash the Stampede_ and it gets a little unreal. Once it sinks in, you know?"

"You _still_ don't believe I'm who I say I am?" asked Vash, flabbergasted.

"Oh I believe you're Vash the Stampede. That's the problem. I can hear you and I hear a dear friend, but when I look at you _and _hear you and smell you and touch you, you become something totally unknown to me and I have to act all formal," she explained.

"You haven't called me Mr. Vash in a while…" Vash murmured. "And you've never really been physically close enough to me to touch me or… smell me. What exactly _do _I smell like, Insurance Girl?" he grinned at her embarrassment.

Meryl looked anywhere but at him. "Oh you know… the usual stuff! Soap, sand, gunpowder… donuts…"

Vash leaned into to the slope of her neck. "Mmm… _You_ smell like soap, sand, gunpowder, and… jasmine…" He smiled into her skin.

Meryl closed her eyes. "What's jasmine, Vash?" she asked.

"It's a white flower kind of in the shape of a star. It smells really good. Rem showed me a genetic copy of one. It was really very pretty, small blossoms with such a lovely aroma."

They stayed like that for a few silent minutes. Meryl practically straddling Vash's lap, facing him, with his lips on her throat, the blanket remained around their bodies.

"Vash?" Meryl wondered if he had fallen asleep in this position.

"Hmm?" he replied.

"How am I going to remember you?" she asked.

He suddenly lifted his head and looked deep into her lilac eyes. "What do you mean?"

"You're going to leave and I don't know if I'll ever see you again. I want to know how I'm going to remember you. We don't have any pictures of each other. I'm never going to be able to know where to send a letter. You're going to be too busy doing god knows what to contact me. I don't want to get old and die knowing that we never did – " Meryl was stunned to feel Vash's lips against hers in a breathtaking kiss. She didn't waste too much time in surprise before readily returning the advance. Now she was really straddling him. He placed his hands high on her thighs as she opened her mouth to deepen the kiss. Meryl ran her hands up his back and through his golden locks.

Before they knew what they were doing, clothes started coming off. First, Meryl's shirt, and then Vash's pants. Mindful of his nearly-healed wounds, Meryl slipped Vash's unbuttoned shirt off of his shoulders while Vash pulled down her white skirt and blue tights. They kicked their shoes off and kissed and embraced and stopped.

Meryl was on her back with the blanket beneath her and Vash sitting close, hovering over her barely clothed body. After a less than rowdy acquiescence on both sides, the remaining clothes disappeared.

Only two were warm on that the coldest night of the year. No words were exchanged. If there were regrets, neither voiced them. The lovers woke up in each other's arms, naked and sandy, but perfectly content. It was dawn and the last star fled the sky as the first sun made its appearance on the east horizon.

They waited for the second sun to rise before rising themselves and helping each other get clothed. They walked down the cliff together, thinking about what they had done, giving each other warm glances until they reached the little house at the corner of town.

They bathed together that morning and ate together and sat together and talked together, until it was time for the humanoid typhoon to take his leave. Meryl stood on the front porch waiting for him.

"You're going…" she sighed.

"Yeah. I'm feeling a lot better now. Don't worry, I'll be ok." He stood before her and lowered his lips to meet the corner of her mouth.

The small woman blinked back her tears before they began to form. "Well… I'll see you later. Good luck!" She smiled.

"Thanks. And thanks for everything." He hoped she knew what he meant. He hoped she knew that what they did last night was _more _than just something for her to remember. She _did_ know and was about to tell him when…

"Mr. Vash! Over here!" Millie called out to the man on porch. He walked down the steps and met the tall woman halfway. She stopped in front of him and held out a large cross that was wrapped in canvas, held together with black strips of cloth and belt clips.

"But wait a minute. Isn't that…?"

"I want you to take this with you. I know it would make Mr. Wolfwood happy. In fact it would honor him." Millie smiled.

"Are you sure about this?" asked Vash.

"I am." Millie's voice held all signs of confidence. She handed the Cross Punisher to the outlaw.

"Wow. This is pretty heavy," he said as he received it from the woman.

"Yeah! It is! Of course it's heavy! That's because it's full of mercy!" said Millie happily.

Meryl walked down the porch steps and stood beside Millie. Aqua eyes locked with violet. He made a promise to himself that he _would _see Meryl again. They would find each other and try to make it work. But first… he had a brother to save.

"Well, take care of yourselves. Bye!" Vash waved and turned to walk away. The girls waved at him until he was a speck on the horizon.

"I couldn't… I couldn't say anything to him." Tears threatened to fall from Meryl's eyes as she realized the love of her life may have just left for good.

"Well, you can tell him everything when he gets back! You can go nuts on him," Millie promised.

-THREE DAYS LATER-

Something was happening to her. Meryl woke up with an ache in her head. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong. Vash hadn't been gone for that long, so she didn't think that he was what was worrying her. It was something entirely different, and extremely dangerous.

"Meryl! Water! We hit water!" Meryl's best friend bounded over to her. The construction team had finally hit the main water vein that ran under the city. Now the town well was shooting up vast amounts of the most treasured and yearned for life source.

"Yeah!" Meryl shouted back joyfully over the laughter and excitement of the crowd of townspeople.

"Vash will come back, won't he?" Millie sounded so sure. Her logic was that with some good news comes _even more_ good news, like the discovery of water was a sign of Vash's safe return home. Meryl didn't want to disappoint her friend.

"Of course he will. He wouldn't dare keep a good woman like me waiting, right?" Meryl laughed a little to herself at that comment.

"Right," Millie agreed.

Meryl frowned. She felt it again. Like any minute, her world would implode and she would be left alone on the dark barren wasteland with no soul or even a happy memory to turn to...

* * *

**Author's Note: Ok so I got REALLY fluffy in there, but it was necessary. I couldn't go through with the plot unless they had sexual intercourse. That, by the way, was my first attempt at writing a sex scene. I know... it was really bad and I could have done better, but I just HAD to get this chapter out there. Thank you for reading now please review and tell me what you think. I'll be introducing the wonderful character of Knives into the story next chapter. **


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